Sample Sunday - Ravens snippet

Today's snippet is short, and potentially spoilery, so some names and details are removed. Usual warnings - strong language and violence, this scene may change in final edits.

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“Your god is a fool and a mad one at that, if he expects us to believe this.” Vianna told him.

“One would also expect a god to have a basic working knowledge of magic,” Brin drawled. “So to summarise: you murdered children, fled the country, pretended to be male and infiltrated a cult who enjoy killing women, and returned from the islands and began preying on the people you pretended to serve. How many did you kill in Breya, little fangless one?”

“I never killed anyone useful,” ------- shrugged, ignoring the insult. “No-one notices one less beggar at the gate, or one less whore in a tavern.”

Gates stirred. “They noticed. We had people reported missing on a regular basis, but folks leave and come back. No guard had the time to check on every person with itchy feet.” He sighed. “I had you at my table, ------. I counted you as a friend.”

The fey king walked over, blade in hand. “Then you came to my home and slaughtered a guest of mine, one who was worth ten of you.” Brin said. “Why the hawk? You drugged the others; why not feed on them?”

And -------- smiled at them. “I’ve never eaten a hawk before. He tasted lovely.”

Brin and Amber moved at the same time.  Brin struck down and Amber out, and the vampire slowly separated into quarters that slid bonelessly apart.

Gates was quietly and thoroughly sick on the floor behind them.

Sample Sunday - Ravens snippet

Time for a snippet from the upcoming Crescent book. Usual warnings apply : there may be typo's, this may not make the final cut, or it may be changed when it gets to that stage.

In this particular snippet, I reckon the wolf family from Blood Moon Dance have mellowed the Brute a bit.

Have fun.

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The whip-crack of air rushing to fill a large vacuum hissed through the night, and what was left of the pond crumbled into so much white dust. The mouth in the step shuddered and fell inward, suddenly toothless.

Jadah watched the spiders mill aimlessly for a bit. One of them noticed her and jumped upwards. She could have sworn it had a faint look of surprise on its face as it sailed through her and splattered itself on the ground.

“Heh.” She put her hands on her hips and revolved slowly, looking around. Most of the creatures were ambling towards the house now, and the sanctuary of their webs.

She drifted slowly away from the yard and through the town. The inn where Amber had stayed the first night was over-run with rats. The landlady was a pile of white bone behind her counter.

Brin had taken the squad horses with him, but the Brute had been stabled behind the guard-house. Jadah headed that way with a heavy heart, but knowing Amber would ask, made herself go and look.

The stable-lad was nowhere to be seen. Jadah sighed, and moved down the stalls, a brief glance in each showing her all she needed to know.

The Brute stuck his head over his door and sneered at her. Jadah stared back.

She moved inside the stall, surprised when he only snorted and tossed his head. He’d never gotten out of the habit of trying to bite her.

The stall walls were splintered and gouged where he’d kicked and pounded against them, and the ground was littered with squashed furry bodies.

“Mice, eh?” Jadah asked him.

He snorted.

“I know someone who’ll be glad to see you,” she told him, and watched his eyes gleam. “She’s safe. Well, as safe as she can be, all things considered.” She looked at him. Putting a saddle and bridle on him was pointless; she could move faster than he could, and she’d yet to meet the horse that would carry a ghost on its back. “Shall we go?”

The Brute stamped a foot and rumbled, and a bit of the straw behind him stirred. A small, furry head poked out of it and whimpered at her.

Jadah looked at the horse, then at the walls again. He’d been fighting right enough, and not just for himself.

“Really?” She said to him. “A puppy?”

He snorted and stamped again, and Jadah grinned and went to get the saddlebags. This was going to be an interesting reunion.

Pain Free, and a Celebration Ravens Snippet

It's Sunday night, and I am migraine-free for the first time in weeks. At this point in time, I consider Botox to be the best discovery on the planet, and I've bouncing around the flat like a bunny on extra-strength carrots; the sheer relief of not feeling miserable is indescribable. 

Next week I get to write again, and function like a normal human, (well, as normal as I'm ever going to get) and hopefully this means I'm migraine-free for another year or so. 

To celebrate, here's another wee snippet from the WIP. Usual warnings apply - still to go through final edit, possible typo's, and definite strong language.

Enjoy!

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Mariah crawled backwards to him and circled her forefinger in the air, one eyebrow raised. He nodded. Every moment they were on the roof without a dampening spell meant the danger of alerting their attackers to where they were, and he felt the quick prickle of the spell she laid and pushed against it gently with his mind.  It would hold for a while.

"Quickly!" Jadah hissed from behind them. "It won't take them long." She looked at them bleakly. "They have your scent."  

"What are they?" Mariah asked.   

"I'm not sure," the spirit said. "But if they get hold of you two we are totally and utterly fucked. You need to get off this roof."  

"We could hold them off here for a while," Carmine said.  

"I'm not sure Amber could hold them off," Jadah said, and Carmine felt himself pale.  

"They have the streets blocked," Mariah said. "We'd need to get to across town using the rooftops."  

"No," Jadah said. "Too noisy, and these things are too fast, and smart enough to have thought of that. They have traps set up over the next three blocks in every direction."  

"They were expecting us," Mariah said. There was a cold, hard ball of fear and fury in her gut. "They expected hawks."  

"I reckon so."  

"If we can't outfight them or outrun them, we're running out of options here." Carmine said.   

"I can show you how to hide," Jadah said. "But it's going to hurt."  

"Oh, good. One of those."   

The two females rolled their eyes at him and he shrugged. "What do we need to do?"  

"You need to trust me," the ghost said. "And you need to bleed. Both of you." 

Jadah took them over to the chimneystack with its cold gray stone. "Cut the backs of your hands, your forearms, temples, and the back of your necks. Long and shallow; this could take a while and I don't want you bleeding out." 

Mariah and Carmine looked at each other.  

"Me first," Mariah said eventually, and held her hands out to Carmine. He pulled out his boot dagger and began to cut, swiftly but carefully. He hesitated when he got to her face. 

"I'll heal," she said softly. "And next hunt will see the scars gone." 

"Doesn't mean I have to enjoy it," he grumbled. 

"Hurry up!" Jadah hissed, and they both felt the spell at the top of the stairs fail. The raiders were outside the room beneath them. 

Carmine bent over and kissed Mariah on the forehead, then made the last three cuts and slapped the knife into her hand. 

She worked faster than he had.  

"You need to bend down so I reach your neck," she said. 

The door shield fell and they both staggered. 

He took the blade from her and swiped it across his own neck. 

"Idiot man," Mariah said.